COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

COUNTABLE NOUNS

Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For example: "pen". We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens. Here are some more countable nouns:

• dog, cat, animal, man, person
• bottle, box, litre
• coin, note, dollar
• cup, plate, fork
• table, chair, suitcase, bag

Countable nouns can be singular or plural:

• My dog is playing.
• My dogs are hungry.

We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns:

• A dog is an animal.

UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate elements. We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can count "bottles of milk" or "litres of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself. Here are some more uncountable nouns:

• music, art, love, happiness
• advice, information, news
• furniture, luggage
• rice, sugar, butter, water
• electricity, gas, power
• money, currency

We do not usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot say "an information" or "a music". But we can say a something of:

• a piece of news
• a bottle of water
• a grain of rice

We can use some and any with uncountable nouns:

• I've got some money.
• Have you got any rice

Here are some more examples of countable and uncountable nouns: 

Countable	Uncountable
dollar	money
song	music
suitcase	luggage
table	furniture
battery	electricity
bottle	wine
report	information
tip	advice
journey	travel
job	work
view	scenery

PRACTICE...

http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=3246

http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-exercise-countable-uncountable-nouns.php#.UvwUof3L-5c

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/grammar/nouns_uncountables.htm

http://www.ihbristol.com/free-english-exercises/test/esol-smc-countable-and-uncountable-nouns

ARTICLES

The indefinite article - a

The indefinite article is the a is the same for all genders.
a boy, a girl, a cat

The indefinite article has no plural form.
a boy - boys

We use an if the following word starts with a vowel.

USES...

The definite article - the

The definite article the is the same for all genders in singular and in plural.
the boy, the girl, the cat, the computers

                             NO ARTICLE                                                   THE

No article/Zero article

1. Do not use an article with countries, states, counties or provinces, lakes and mountains except when the country is a collection of states such as "The United States".

• He lives in Washington near Mount Rainier.
• They live in Northern British Columbia.
• They climbed Mount Everest.

2. we do not normally use an article with plurals and uncountable nouns to talk about things in general.:

• He writes books.
• She likes sweets.
• Do you like jazz music?
• She ate bread with butter in the morning.

EXTRA PRACTICE

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises_list/artikel.htm
http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-exercise-articles.php#.UvRZiv1lO5c
http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=4378
http://www.learn4good.com/languages/evrd_grammar/article_ex.htm
http://www.agendaweb.org/grammar/articles-beginners-exercises.html

CAN AND CAN'T

Can is a modal verb.

Can is used to express ability or to say that something is possible.

Can is the same for all subjects. We don't add an 'S' in the third person (like other verbs)

The verb that comes after Can is in the infinitive without to:

• I can speak Spanish. (= it is possible for me to speak Spanish = I have the ability to speak Spanish)
• He can swim well.
• We can see my neighbour in the garden.
  
• They can play the guitar.

FUNCTIONS

We use 'can' to talk about 'possibility'.

• Can you do that?
• I can't manage to do that.
• You can leave your car in that parking space.
• You cannot smoke in here.

Notice that there are two negative forms: 'can't' and 'cannot'. These mean exactly the same thing. When we are speaking, we usually say 'can't'.

We use 'can' to talk about 'ability'.

• I can speak French.
• I can't drive.

We use 'can' to ask for and give permission. (We also use 'may' for this but is more formal and much less common.)

• Can I speak to you or are you too busy?
• You can use my phone.
• You can't come in.

We use 'can' in offers, requests and instructions.

• Can I help?
• Can you give me a hand?
• When you finish that, you can take out the garbage.

Negative

To form the negative we add "not" after can to form one word: cannot.

We can also contract the negative to form can't. (can't = cannot)

• I cannot play the piano. We can't go to the cinema tonight.
• She cannot speak French very well. He can't drive a car.

Questions

To from the question we change the position of the subject and the auxiliary verb.

The main verb is still in the infinitive without to.

• Where can I buy an ice-cream?
• Can I go to the party, please?
• Can you speak Japanese?
• What can we do on Saturday?

Remember that you can use short answers:

• Can I sit here please? Yes, you can.
• Can you speak Chinese? No, I can't.

EXTRA PRACTICE

http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=1518

http://first-english.org/english_learning/english_beginners/can_can_t_exercises/04_can_can_t_negative_exercise.htm

http://first-english.org/english_learning/english_beginners/can_can_t_exercises/09_can_mixed_exercises_learning.htm

http://first-english.org/english_learning/english_beginners/can_can_t_exercises/10_can_can_t_mixed_exercises.htm

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/questions/can2.htm

http://www.grammar.cl/Games/Can_Cannot.htm

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-games/grammar/jumbled-present-can-ability-1.htm

http://www.saberingles.com.ar/curso/lesson13/05.html

GAMES

GAMES…

https://elt.oup.com/student/horizonscee/games/frog2?cc=co&selLanguage=en
https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/grammar-games/nouns-countable-and-uncountable
http://www.eslgamesplus.com/countable-uncountable-a-an-rally/
http://www.anglomaniacy.pl/grammar-nouns-practise3.htm
http://www.turtlediary.com/grade-3-games/ela-games/countable-and-uncountable-nouns-basketball-game.html

PAST SIMPLE EXERCISES

http://www.adelescorner.org/grammar/past_tense/past_simple_quests2.html
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/questions/simple_past2.htm
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/questions/simple_past.htm
http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/past-simple-exercise-6.html
http://www.agendaweb.org/verbs/past-simple-questions.html
http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-8184.php

Past Simple Vs. Present Simple

http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=5484
http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs12.htm
http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-43852.php
http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-51619.php
http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-87374.php
http://www.saberingles.com.ar/curso/lesson15/06.html

past simple

PAST SIMPLE 

Exceptions in Spelling when Adding ‘ed’

Exceptions in spelling when adding ed	Example
after a final e only add d	love – loved
final consonant after a short, stressed vowel or l as final consonant after a vowel is doubled	admit – admitted travel – travelled
final y after a consonant becomes i	hurry – hurried

Use of Simple Past

• action in the past taking place once, never or several times
  Example: He visited his parents every weekend.
• actions in the past taking place one after the other
  Example: He came in, took off his coat and sat down

infinitive	irregular past
be begin break bring buy build choose come cost cut do draw drive eat feel find get give go have hear hold keep know leave lead let lie lose make mean meet pay put run say sell send set sit speak spend stand take teach tell think understand wear win write	was/were began broke brought bought built chose came cost cut did drew drove ate felt found got gave went had heard held kept knew left led let lay lost made meant met paid put ran said sold sent set sat spoke spent stood took taught told thought understood wore won wrote

PRACTICE...

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/simple-past/exercises?04

http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-exercise-simple-past.php#.UwWAkP3L-5c

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/tests/simple-past-1

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/tests/simple-past-2

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/tests/simple-past-3

Was and Were Usage

WAS AND WERE USAGE

To Be - Affirmative

Subject	To Be	Examples
I	was	I was tired this morning.
You	were	You were very good.
He	was	He was the best in his class.
She	was	She was late for work.
It	was	It was a sunny day.
We	were	We were at home.
You	were	You were on holiday.
They	were	They were happy with their test results.

To Be - Negative Sentences

The negative of To Be can be made by adding not after the verb (was or were).

Subject	To Be	Examples
I	was not	I was not tired this morning.
You	were not	You were not crazy.
He	was not	He was not married.
She	was not	She was not famous.
It	was not	It was not hot yesterday.
We	were not	We were not invited.
You	were not	You were not at the party.
They	were not	They were not friends.

To Be - Negative Contractions

The can make negative contractions of the verb To Be in the Past tense by joining the verb (was or were) and n't (e.g. were not = weren't). We don't make a contraction of the subject and the verb (e.g. I was).

I was not tired this morning.	OR	I wasn't tired this morning.
You were not crazy.	OR	You weren't crazy.
He was not married.	OR	He wasn't married.
She was not famous.	OR	She wasn't famous.
It was not hot yesterday.	OR	It wasn't hot yesterday.
We were not invited.	OR	We weren't invited.
You were not at the party.	OR	You weren't at the party.
They were not friends.	OR	They weren't friends.

* Notice that we don't have contractions for To Be in Past Tense affirmative sentences.

To Be - Questions

To create questions with To Be, you put the Verb before the Subject.

Affirmative	You	were	happy.
	Subject	Verb
Question	Were	you	happy?
	Verb	Subject

Affirmative	Question
I was late	Was I late?
You were sick.	Were you sick?
He was surprised.	Was he surprised?
She was from Italy.	Was she from Italy?
It was a big house.	Was it a big house?
We were ready.	Were we ready?
You were early.	Were you early?
They were busy.	Were they busy?

To Be - Short Answers

In spoken English, we usually give short answers in response to questions.

Was he from Japan? - Yes, he was (from Japan). The last part (from Japan) is not necessary. We use shorts answers to avoid repetition, when the meaning is clear.

Question	Short Answers**	Short Answers
Was I late?	Yes, you were.	No, you weren't.
Were you sick?	Yes, I was.	No, I wasn't.
Was he surprised?	Yes, he was.	No, he wasn't.
Was she from Italy?	Yes, she was.	No, she wasn't.
Was it a big house?	Yes, it was.	No, it wasn't.
Were we ready?	Yes, we were.	No, we weren't.
Were you early?	Yes, we were.	No, we weren't.
Were they busy?	Yes, they were.	No, they weren't.

** With To Be, We don't use contractions in affirmative short answers.

PHRASES TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT

yesterday	ayer
last night	anoche
last week	la semana pasada
last month	el mes pasado
last year	el año pasado
in 1970	en 1970

PRACTICE….
http://www.engvid.com/was-were/
http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=5133
http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=5135
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/simple-past/exercises?03
http://suz.digitaleschulebayern.de/english/grammar/was_were1.htm